Feast of St. Barbara, Virgin & Martyr

St. Barbara in her tower by Robert Campin, 1438AD.


Today is the feast day of St. Barbara, Virgin and Martyr, who was thought to have been martyred at Nicomedia around 235AD.

Not much is known with certainty about St. Barbara, aside from her sanctity, conversion, and eventual martyrdom at the hands of her wicked pagan father Dioscurus.  She was thought to have been imprisoned in a tower by her father, a tower that by her remodeling gave honor to the Holy Trinity.  In his rage over his daughter's conversion, Dioscurus slew his daughter and immediately afterwards was struck by lightening himself -- instantly killing the heathen.

For this reason, St. Barbara is a patron saint again lightening, fire, and sudden death; and one of the traditional Fourteen Holy Helpers.  By extension, she is the patroness of miners, builders, and, of course, artillerists.  Most anyone who works with explosives or the possibility of sudden death,or who could use the accuracy of the lightening strike that fried Diocurus, should count St. Barbara as an intercessor!

Here are a couple sources with more on St. Barbara:
Old Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Barbara

Fisheaters: Feast of St. Barbara

To this day, members of that venerable branch of the Army and Marine Corps, the Artillery, recall the patronage of St. Barbara.  We might note, as well, the Order of St. Barbara, a military honor society for those who are a part of the artillery.  Here is the US Field Artillery Association webpage that features the awards of the Order of St. Barbara: USFAA awards

Here is an account of St. Barbara done by some Marines!  1st Marine Division, 11th Regiment: St. Barbara


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Nestorianism, Ephesus, & Theotokos

Today was, after being instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1931, the Feast of the Divine Maternity of Our Lady.  It was established in honor of the anniversary of the great Council of Ephesus in 431AD, at which Our Lady was defined as Theotokos -- Mother of God -- and the Nestorian heresy was condemned.

In the liturgical calendar of 1970, this observance was combined with that of the Octave of Christmas, which already recalled the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary.


Theotokos of Vladimir.

In 428 Nestorius, originally a monk from Antioch, was made Patriarch of Constantinople (428-431).  This eloquent and austere new Patriarch, his first Christmas as shepherd of the Imperial capital, preached that Mary was not the Mother of God!  Behold, the Nestorian heresy.  He, and the Nestorian heretics, claims that Christ is not actually God, but God only dwells in him as “in a temple” or “a garment.”  Thus, there are two persons in Christ – and Mary was only mother of the human person, not the divine.  Thus, she is not Mother of God, but only Mother of Christ!  This caused quite the stir in the area, as you might imagine.  A lawyer actually interrupted his homily in the Cathedral, and Nestorius would be faced down by a fellow bishop on the next feast of the Annunciation the following Spring.

Copies of these homilies reached the Patriarch of Alexandria, St. Cyril (Successor of St. Mark from 412-444AD), in 429, and St. Cyril immediately condemned the ideas and reported them to the pope, St. Celestine I (Successor of St. Peter from 423-432).  Nestorius, for his part, appealed to the Eastern Roman Emperor, Theodosius II (Reigned, 408-450).   The Pope, agreeing with St. Cyril, condemned the teaching of Nestorius, and threatened to depose him.  Nestorius, for his part, persisted, and this with the encouragement of Patriarch John of Antioch (Successor of St. Peter in Antioch from 428-442).



Ephesus today: the Library of Celsus. 
[By Benh LIEU SONG - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15578063]

The Emperor, Theodosius II, hoping to find a solution, summoned a general council – the Third – at Ephesus which met in 431.  St. Augustine was actually invited, but he had died by the time the invitation arrived.  After a delay, owing to the absence of John of Antioch, the council finally opened in the blazing heat of June 431, with Cyril of Alexandria presiding as legate of the Pope.  The Council carefully read the teachings of Nestorius, and quickly condemned them.  Nestorius himself was given three warnings to arrive and answer, but he refused, and was deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople.  The Council unanimously declared that Mary was, indeed, Theotokos!  Torch-lit processions and celebrations met the declaration in Ephesus.

A more thorough account of the Council can be found here: Old Catholic Encyclopedia: Council of Ephesus

Today, then, of all days, it is a joy to affirm that Jesus Christ is one person with two natures, human and divine, and that his Holy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, is most certainly the Mother of God!

St. Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death!

Live well!

Feast of St. Denis & Royal Necropolis

Today is the Feast of St. Denis (Dionysius in Latin), Martyr and first Bishop of Paris, France.  Pope St. Fabian dispatched Denis as a missionary to Gaul in the mid-third century.  Denis and his companions, Sts. Rusticus and Eleutherius, for their part, shed their blood for Christ during either the Decian persecution around 250AD or that of Valerian in 258 AD.  The place of their martyrdom was the hill of Montmartre.

Image of St. Denis (left) from the Nuremberg Chronicles, and (right) from a portal of Notre Dame.
[Image on right: By Thesupermat - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21763309]

Legend has it that St. Denis, after being beheaded, picked up his head and walked some distance to the site of the Basilica of St. Denis -- hence his frequent presentation in art holding his own head.

For more on the Saint you can visit:
Catholic Saints Info: St. Denis of Paris

Old Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Denis



Facade of the Basilica of St. Denis.
[By Thomas Clouet - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42109690]

Built on the site of a an earlier church, the Basilica of St. Denis was first constructed by orders of the Frankish King Dagobert I (reigned 629-634AD), and would house the relics of St. Denis.  This site of pilgrimage would also end up being the burial place of the Kings of France from the 10th through 18th century.  The would be coronated at the Catherdral of Rheims (the see of St. Remy or Remigius), but they would be buried here at St. Denis, near Paris.

You can visit the website of the Basilica here: Basilique Saint-Denis


Interior of the Basilica of St. Denis.

The great Abbot Suger (+1151AD) began a project in 1135AD to remodel the Basilica, and giving rise to a new form of architecture: Gothic.  It is an architectural masterpiece.  You can read the Abbot's account of his renovations here: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/sugar.html

With the exception of but three, every King of France from Clovis I (+511AD) to Louis XVIII (+1824AD) is buried in this sacred place.  A couple of the monuments are pictured below:


Monument of King Louis XII (+1515AD) and his Queen, Anne of Brittany.
[By Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18611160]


Monument of King Louis XVI (+1793AD) and his Queen, Marie Antoinette.
[By Eric Pouhier - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1765224]


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Feast of St. Alphege of Canterbury

St. Alphege of Canterbury, King and Martyr, asked for advice. 15th century.

St. Alphege (+1012AD), was a monk of the monastery of Deerhurst who was served as both Bishop of Winchester and then Archbishop of Canterbury.  He guided the English Church during a troubled period of Danish intervention.  The Saxon King Aethelred "the unready" ruled from 983-1013, when the Dane, Sweyn Forkbeard managed to seize power (1013-1014).  A brief return of Saxon rule (1014-1016) would be followed by a couple Danish monarchs from 1016-1042, including Canute the Great (1016-1035).

The Danes in this period were often at least nominally Christian, but were far from adopting all of the moral expectations of Christian life.  St. Alphege bear witness to the fact that amongst the Danes a number of pagans remain -- he was executed by some of them in 1012AD.

The Saxon chronicle describes his death in this way:
"... the raiding-army became much stirred up against the bishop, because he did not want to offer them any money, and forbade that anything might be granted in return for him. Also they were very drunk, because there was wine brought from the south. Then they seized the bishop, led him to their "hustings" on the Saturday in the octave of Easter, and then pelted him there with bones and the heads of cattle; and one of them struck him on the head with the butt of an axe, so that with the blow he sank down and his holy blood fell on the earth, and sent forth his holy soul to God's kingdom."

He was the first Archbishop of Canterbury to die a violent death.

For more on St. Alphege, you might note:
Catholic Saints Info: St. Alphege of Canterbury

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Feast of St. Sebastian & Pope St. Fabian, Martyrs

Both of the great saints commemorated today turn our mind to Rome, to martyrdom, and to the Christian underground cemeteries of the catacombs!


Martyrdom of St. Sebastian by Il Sodoma (+1549AD)

Today is the feast of the Roman Martyr, St. Sebastian, patron saint of athletes and archers.  Tradition has it that he was a member of the Praetorian Guard under the Emperor Diocletian who was condemned to death for his Faith.  While surviving the ordeal of the archers' field, he would be clubbed to death, and this in the 280s AD.

 For more, you should note:
Catholic Saints Info: St. Sebastian

Old Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Sebastian

Golden Legend (13th century): St. Sebastian



San Sebastiano fuori le mura, Roma, Lazio, Italia.

The burial place of St. Sebastian lies on the old Appian Way to the south of the old city of Rome.  It lies in a part of the countryside rich with catacombs, and, indeed, the Basilica of San Sebastiano fuori le mura lies above its own set of catacombs.  It was restored in the early 17th century at the behest of Scipio Cardinal Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V.  The basilica was one of the Seven Major Basilicas of Rome (the four patriarchal basilicas, along with Santa Croce, San Lorenzo, and San Sebastiano) and long a focus of pilgrimage.  It also happens to house a splendid bust of Jesus Christ by Gianlorenzo Bernini.

You can visit their site here: Catacombs of San Sebastiano Official Site



Pope St. Fabian, Giovanni di Paolo, c. 1450.

Today, 20 January, we also commemorate Pope St. Fabian (+250AD), a victim of the Decian persecution, who also rests in the same Basilica of San Sebastiano, after having originally been buried in the Crypt of the Popes in the Catacombs of San Callisto (Catacombs of San Callisto Official Site).

Old Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope St. Fabian

May we respond to the great witness of these Roman martyrs!

Live well!